Coupling-shank and yoke connection.



E. H. SCHMIDT COUPLING SHANK AND YOKE CONNECTION APPLICATION FILED OCT.1, l9l3.

Patented June 29', 1915.

FFTQQE.

ERNEST H. SCHMIDT,

F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL MALLEAIBLE CASTINGS COMPANY,OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

COUPLING-SHANK AND YOKE CO1\TNEG'IION.

Specification of Letters Zatent.

Patented June 29, 1915.

7 Application filed (lctober 1, 1913. Serial No. 792,770.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST H. SCHMIDT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, have in vented new anduseful Improvements in Coupler-Shank and Yoke Connections, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of my improved connection; Fig. 2is an elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a section on lines IIIIII of Fig. 1,and Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively side and plan views showing amodification.

My invention relates to connections "between draft rigging yokes and theshanks of car couplers, and provides a simple and convenient form ofconnection by which the parts can be readily disconnected.

My invention also provides a yoke which has been reinforced to preventspreading under the heavy stresses of buffing and draft.

Referring to the drawings the numeral 2 represents the shank of anautomatic coupler of any approved type. The shank 2 terminates in thebutt 3 which has apertures for reception of the usual rivets 5. The yoke6, which is preferably an integral steel casting, consists of the usualupper-and lower arms 7 and 8 connected at their rear ends by thevertical portion 9. Upon the exterior faces of the yoke 6 is areinforcing rib 10 which at its forward ends 11 is bifurcated to form aspace with in which the heads of the rivets 5 are seated. The bifurcatedportions 11 serve to strengthen the forward ends of the yoke 6 at thepoints at which they are connected to the coupler 2.

Upon the forward inner ends of the yoke arms 7 and 8 are stops orshoulders 12, against which the forward faces 13 of the coupler butt 3are designed to bear and which will take up the strains of draft evenwhen the rivets 5 have become broken or dislodged. The shoulders 12 arestrengthened by the inwardly extending side plates 14: which areintegral with the shoulders and the forward ends of the yoke arms. Theside plates 14 are adapted to bear against the sides of the coupler buttand to relieve the rivets 5 of a large proportion of the shearing stressdue to side strains between the' yoke and coupler when the coupler isforced to move laterally by the oper- In the modification shown in Figs.4% and 5 the side plates 14: are somewhat shortened and do not extendrearwardly the full length of the coupler butt, and their outsidevertical faces are convergent rearwardly as shown in Fig. 5. The purposeof this modification is to decrease the overall width of the yoke at thepoint where itwould beliable to interfere with the forward draft sillstops' when the coupler moves rearwardly in bufing. with this form of myinvention the forward draft sill stops need not be spaced apartlaterally any extra distance on account of the lateral projection of theside plates'l'.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the constructionwhich I have described and shown herein without departing from myinvention.

What I claim is:

1. A draft rigging yoke having two forwardly extending arms, integralside plates at the forward end of each arm extending inwardly toward theopposite yoke arm, a coupler butt adapted to be inserted from closedthereby, and rivets for securing the coupler to the yoke, the saidplates being adapted to bear against the sides of the coupler butt andto relieve the rivets from shearing stress.

2. A draft rigging yoke having two forwardly extending arms, an externalreinforcing flange about the said yoke terminating at the forwardportion of each of said arms in a bifurcated reinforcement, seats for acoupler butt on the inner face of each of said arms, stop shoulders andbearing plates extending about the front and sides of said seats, andmeans for securing the arms and the coupler butt together.

A draft rigging yoke having at its for- Therefore ward ends integralinwardly extending side With each arm extending about the front plates,a coupler butt seated between and and sides respectively of each seat,the front partially inclosed by said side plates and flanges beingadapted to hold the coupler secured to said yoke, the said side platesagainst forward motion with respect to the El 5 having vertical outerfaces which converge yoke, and the side flanges being adapted to towardthe rear of the coupler butt. take up side strains between the yoke and!4. A draft rigging yoke consisting of a the coupler. I single-piececasting having two forwardly- ERNEST H. SCHMIDT.

extending arms, a seat for a coupler butt Witnesses: npornthe innerhorizontal face of each arm, CHESTER K. BROOKS,

H'Hl v0rtical -nrojecting flanges integral HARRY E. ORR.

